Project overview
Marylebone Place is a thoughtful reinvention of a 1930s neo-Georgian office building, formerly Marylebone House, situated on a prominent London thoroughfare. Completed in 2023, Fletcher Priest Architects led the redevelopment for Beltane Asset Management, blending a modern workplace into a mainly residential conservation area.
Clay brick was central to both restoring and expanding Marylebone Place. The project retained and adapted approximately 85% of the original 1938 office building designed by Stanley Gordon Jeeves. This approach supported circular economy principles and helped reduce embodied carbon.
The original façade of red and yellow bricks was carefully cleaned and restored. A unique colour gradient of seven clay brick tones was introduced, selected to reflect the diverse brick palette of the surrounding Marylebone Conservation Area. Charnwood Cathedral Grey bricks feature within the gradient, which transitions from lighter shades at the base to darker tones above.
The bold colours and geometric forms draw inspiration from Marylebone’s rich industrial past, particularly its railway architecture. The distinctive brickwork gives the building a unique identity that ties it visually to its environment. The toothed brick corners reference the work of Sigurd Lewerentz, a 20th-century Swedish architect known for his expressive use of brick. The book-end elevations facing the Georgian terraces of Knox Street and Wyndham Street employ traditional bricklaying to replicate the colour gradient and maintain a human scale.
Brick detailing is handled with care throughout, featuring arched windows, layered patterns, and deep reveals that add depth and shadow. These details echo the Georgian streetscape’s architectural language. The brick character continues inside, creating refined and inviting interior spaces that enhance the tenant experience.
Marylebone Place demonstrates how clay brick remains vital in contemporary commercial architecture. Its adaptability, expressiveness and connection to tradition enable a sustainable and confident addition to the historic urban fabric, showcasing the enduring quality and craftsmanship of clay brick.
